[Harp-L] Shaker Madcat?

[Vergil Mueller <vcm2@xxxxxxxx>]

Some friends and I recently started a rock/funk band and I am getting 
ready to buy my first mic.  I am considering the Shaker Madcat for a 
couple of reasons, but I had some questions about how people feel about 
it.  I realize that taste in mics is a very personalized question, but 
since I know very little about mics, I thought I would open it up to 
some feedback from mic veterans (no pun intended).

Here are my questions/comments on what I have read about the Shaker 
Madcat so far:

1)  The manufacturer's description says it is small enough and shaped so 
that you can do the natural "wah-wah" effect with your hands, and the 
mic will pick it up.  Is this true?  How effectively does it reproduce 
the traditional acoustic wah sound, or is it a different sound?

2)  Since I'll be playing several different styles of music and might 
need to sound "clean" from time to time, I am looking for a mic that has 
a good range of different sounds or styles.  I have heard that the 
Madcat has a somewhat "clean" sound naturally because of its relatively 
weak signal, but that you can also get the "thick, hot" sound with it if 
you use a preamp and/or have the volume controls set right.  How 
accurate is this claim?  What configurations (pre-amps, amps, settings) 
 have been used to get a good, thick blues sound?

If anyone has any general recommendations about why or why not the 
Madcat is a good mic, let 'er rip.  Also, are there any other mic 
recommendations for a guy who plays a good bit of non-blues as well as 
blues?

Thanks,
Vergil